Global Business Day

Today we learned about global business and renewable energy. Our day consisted of adventures through the city and a tour of Polaris. Due to the change in plans the day before we were given two hours of free time. During free time majority of the group bargained while Cliff, Aaron and I snuck off to get a birthday cake for a very special someones 17th birthday. Everyone then all met up at the hoste and headed to Polaris.Polaris is a very popular renewable energy plant that pulls hot water from the ground to create electricity. At Polaris, we were given super cool hard hats and jackets for safety of course ! We also met an engineer named Leonel who explained the importance of renewable energy as well as the process of producing electricity from hot water. First, they draw into a pocket of steam and hot water there the steam goes into a device that separates the steam from the hot water. After the separation, it goes into turbines that turn 36 hundred times a minuet. The turbines turn the generator and the rotator which turns mechanical energy into electrical energy and that produces 60 mega watts per hour. The steam is sent to a condenser which is turned into water and pumped back into the ground. This whole process takes about one minuet. Polaris delivers 10% of energy consumption to Nicaragua. We also were given a tour of Polaris and got to see each machine perform its job and its purpose it serves. Since Polaris runs on hot water our day was extra hot you could hear the steam and feel the heat below us. The tour of Polaris taught us the importance of recycling, conserving our planets natural resources and using natural resources is a safer way to create energy. We then returned to the bus and instantly everyone took a nap. Once we arrived back at the hostel we had free time before planning our lessons for English tutoring so most of us went out for some ice cream ! Planning our tutoring lessons was a bit of a challenge due to the fact that we only had half an hour but luckily everyone finished right on time before dinner. For dinner we had delicious tacos with salsa and a very special surprise birthday cake for Mercedes! After cake and presents we proceeded to our English classes. English tutoring has definitely opened our eyes to the struggles and joys of being a teacher but I think I speak for all of us when I say we have grown to care for our students so quickly. Nicaragua has given us so many experiences that have helped us grow as people and unite together. We started off as 18 strangers but now when I look at this group I see them as family. A family of unique and diverse people that all offer something special and valuable. This group continues to surprise me with all of its positivity and made being leader of the day and enjoyable memorable experience.

Happy Birthday Mercedes!
Hey Girl- (MALIA)
WOW looks like another jam packed day of adventure for the Fab -18 ! I am glad you got the chance to explore an energy plant and become closer as a group. I hope everyone is feeling ok after the tummy aches last night 🙁
It’s been nice and sunny here at home!
love and miss you girl!!!
Mom

I read the Blog about Polaris and renewable energy with great interest. I was pleasantly surprised that it was written by Zena! I know Zena is a good writer but this was like a nice piece of journalism! What a great example of renewable energy. In Latin America where resources can be scarce, much time and care goes into cultivating natural resources and the Polaris plant is a good example. Because of necessity, such harvesting of renewable energy is a forethought and not an afterthought as renewable energy often is in the U.S. Think about that.

Also enjoyed about Zena being leader of the day and how this group of students is jelling like……………well………..como famila!